The Sunshine Coast's medical health officer says it would be a mistake to draw any conclusions from a slight drop in the number of overdoses being reported at Sechelt Hospital. "We have more work to do," said Dr. Paul Martiquet. "We don't want to give any false sense of reassurance to the community that we aren't exposed to what the Downtown Eastside is - because we are." Provincial statistics show April was the second-worst month on record for illicit drug overdose deaths in B.C., with 136. [continues 431 words]
Retail Marijuana Michelle and Doug Sikora are a big step closer to having a storefront location for their S&M Medicinal Sweet Shoppe, but it won't be in Sechelt as they'd hoped. The couple have been issued a business licence by the Town of Gibsons and plan to set up shop in the 700 block of Gibsons Way in early 2017. S&M is the second marijuana dispensary to be granted a licence by the Town in recent weeks. The Healing Hut, run by Brenda Haeber and Mike Harris, opened on Marine Drive last month. [continues 756 words]
Some Sunshine Coast cannabis growers are hoping new Health Canada rules will create an opportunity for so-called "craft" producers to move from the grey zone into the area's mainstream economy. Health Canada announced the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR) on Aug. 11, and earlier this week it released details about how patients and growers can register, along with the rules they'll have to follow under ACMPR. ACMPR is the government's response to the Supreme Court ruling in the Allard case, which challenged the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR). Under MMPR, people with a doctor's clearance to use cannabis had to buy it through one of the country's 34 approved growers. [continues 635 words]
The commander of the Sunshine Coast RCMP detachment is urging bylaw enforcement as a way to deal with marijuana dispensaries. Staff Sgt. Vishal Mathura made the comments during a presentation to the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) policing committee May 2, telling the committee, "I believe in transparency, and I want everyone in the room and the general public to know what's happening with marijuana and our enforcement, and what my recommendations are to deal with marijuana dispensaries and marijuana enforcement on the Coast." [continues 347 words]
PREMIER David Bartlett owned up to having smoked dope yesterday, eight days after The Advocate first asked the question. Mr Bartlett's simple "yes" admission followed his rival party leaders - - Liberal Will Hodgman and Green Nick McKim - owning up to past cannabis use in a story in The Advocate yesterday. Tony McCall, from the UTAS School of Government, said yesterday's story showed Mr Bartlett's "zeal for reform and transparency doesn't appear to extend to his personal habits". "So be it, but Extending Trust in Democracy should include a simple answer to a simple question," Mr McCall said. [continues 163 words]
PREMIER David Bartlett is the only Tasmanian political leader who will not say if he has ever smoked cannabis. Liberal Leader Will Hodgman and Greens Leader Nick McKim both owned up to The Advocate last week, following a revelation from newly appointed New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees that he smoked marijuana as a young man. Mr Bartlett ducked the question. After two days spent pursuing his minders, Mr Bartlett's only response to a series of drug-related questions was a brief statement answering one relating to the Youth Parliament's discussion of legalising cannabis. [continues 538 words]
